Summer 2011.pdf - Syracuse University Magazine

»
Berlin fang G’05 »
connectinG cUltUreS
throUGh WordS
And technoloGy
By ProfeSSion, BAilin “Berlin” fAnG iS An
instructional designer. As associate director for the
north institute for teaching and learning at oklahoma
christian University, he teaches professors how to
use technology to enhance lesson plans and promote
understanding with their students. As a blogger and
translator, fang uses these same skills to reach millions
of chinese readers around the world. “everything i
learned about connecting with others, i learned from
blogging,” says fang, a native of Anhui Province in china.
fang left china in 2002, enrolling at Syracuse
University as a graduate student in the School of
education’s department of instructional design,
development, and evaluation. in 2004, he attended
a lecture by a School of information Studies professor
about blogging and social bookmarking that planted the
idea of creating a blog. “i was thinking, ‘Why shouldn’t
i start something like that myself?’” he says. “i always
enjoyed writing and i always need an audience to listen
or read the things i write about.” So, in a South campus
computer lab, fang launched his blog, then called
“nightly talks from the Snow city,” a reference to the
local chinese community’s nickname for Syracuse.
Although he originally began the blog to share what
he learned in classes, fang found it as a way to share
his insights into American culture from a chinese
perspective. “the chinese are learning a lot from this
country, but lots of times, they learn from imitating the
actual ways Americans do things without understanding
the reasons behind them,” he says. “i wanted to share
what is really going on around me and use this blog as
a window, so to speak, for those who are going to come
here, or for those who cannot come here, but want to
learn about the culture.”
Since then, the blog, now named “nan Qiao’s Blog”
(a reference to his chinese pen name), has garnered
more than three-million page views and attention from
chinese media outlets. he has blogged about everything
50 Syracuse University Magazine
from the institution of marriage to potluck dinners, and
regularly receives requests to write commentaries for
newspapers and magazines on issues ranging from
health care reform to American unions. Although
researching such topics can be overwhelming, learning
about American culture fascinates fang. “in a way, i feel
like a cultural anthropologist,” he says with a chuckle,
“but i hope people don’t mind that i do that.”
one subject he discusses in his blog is his work as
a renowned literary translator. in a 2010 entry titled
“translator’s Block,” fang called literary translation
“one of the toughest and most rewarding pursuits in
the world.” Although translating doesn’t pay very well
($10-$15 for every 1,000 words), it’s well worth it to
have “a dialogue with the literary masters in the world,”
he says. fang has translated works by such authors as
nobel Prize winner v.S. naipaul, national Book Award
winner colum Mccann, and Betty Smith, many of which
became best sellers and award winners in china. for
instance, fang’s translation of Mccann’s Let the Great
World Spin won the 2010 Weishanhu Prize, china’s
highest award for an international author.
Whether it is through his blog, literary translations,
or helping teachers incorporate technology into their
lesson plans, fang has made a career of helping different
cultures understand each other. “i’m a living testimony
that you can use an online platform to have an influence
on people,” he says. “i’m also a living testimony that you
can build a presence when you’re at a distance—since
i’m so far away and left china so many years ago.”
—Charnice Milton